Bestsellers This Week

Review: Randomer's "Real Talk" was one of the highlights of the Numbers output last year, a gleefully chunky piece of bass-heavy techno that rightfully raised the producer's stock to the level of his peers such as Blawan. This new release for Untold's Hemlock Recordings shows that "Real Talk" was no one-off, delivering two tracks that punch even harder than before. "Scruff Box" utilises beefed up, lo-fi 808 drums whilst 80s electro samples give the track some brash swing - in the hands of any other producer the results could be terrible, but in his hands it's the sound of being hit in the face with a bag of rocks. "Get Yourself Together" meanwhile combines detuned piano and string stabs with clattering hi-hats and a white-hot bassline. Despite the schlock horror feel of the samples, the results have the required kick - and most importantly the required charm - to make this another winning release for the producer.

Review: The always-impressive Argy delivers his second full-length - the first under his familiar moniker - and it's arguably his most impressive body of work yet. The fact that it's on Ibadan gives a clue to its contents; from start to finish, Fundamentals is an album that reverberates to the grooves of 1990s New York (and specifically the trademark sounds of the Shelter and TWILO clubs). There are early Tenaglia-ish organ dubs, string-drenched piano jams, heady vocal excursions, a Kerri Chandler tribute (the wonderful "Dinner At Kerri's") and a very Ibadan-ish piano piece ("Absent Friends") - all accompanied by Argy's trademark high quality production.

Review: Mark Broom and James Ruskin follow up their Lightbox album as The Fear Ratio with the Skana EP. The introduction of "Dirty Paws" sounds like something you would hear when trying to contact a passed loved one through radio static and white noise. A broken beat drum loop and swooping bass stabs break the confused silence which is later followed by air raid snares similarly heard in Plastikman's "Spastik". "Fedec" falls somewhere between Burial, Aphex Twin and early Scuba productions - replete with fuzzy electronics, moody melodies and over-driven kick drums. Like Stroboscopic Artefacts' Monad series the EP packs an ambient or beatless track and comes in "Kingdom of Ends", showcasing the duo's rarely heard penchant for non-dancefloor sound design. The only techno synonymic styled production is "Skana", a beautifully deep and pushy piece of melancholic techno.

Review: The "Jupiters" remixes are finally available on digital format and this time it's a strictly UK affair, with Happa and Jamie XX on remix duties! Happa's re-interpretation of "Jupiters" is a thumping beast of a track, where a startling bass drum churns its way across a militant percussion - violent hi-hats and snares all round, coated graciously by the most ominous synth stabs to have ever appeared on a Four Tet record! Jamie XX's take on "Lion" is a calmer, sub-heavy parade of swinging drums and mutating bass lines, growing in ferocity with every new bar.

Review: Clone Jack For Daze usher in this rather potent three track collaboration between label boss Serge and veteran contributor Alden Tyrell. The two have been irregular studio sparrers since the turn of the decade, contributing remixes to the various branches of the Clone conglomerate, but House Countdown marks their first original material together. There's no drastic stylistic departure from their previous work here, which isn't surprising given the bare bones house ethos that drives the Jack For Daze series. Two variants on "House Countdown" line the A Side; the first "EPS Deng't" mix is dominated by the grinding, thick bassline that just about fits between the channels, while the "Eighty Nine" mix rounds out the bassline and marries it to a rough drum flex with the results more playful. Up next, the amusingly titled "Pump-o-matic" is Serge and Alden doing Dance Mania with an early 90s Dutch rave twist.

Review: As a staunch representative of Midwest techno since the mid-nineties, Fanon Flowers has always skirted on the periphery of the scene rather than getting placed on the pedestal many of his neighbours do, but this return to the UK's Sect Records sees a further widening of his reach, with this particular record embracing his dub techno side with a cavernous chord deployment and plenty of metallic hits. Substance is on deadly form for the remix, trimming said chord down to a fine point and adding some welcome funk into the arrangement to a thoroughly engrossing end.

Review: Comeme is one of the most brilliantly unpredictable labels and Beating PC shows why it is held in such high esteem. "Puqui" unfolds with psychedelic chords drawn out over a low-slung groove, the synths veering into the realms of tripped out. The title track sees loose drums combined with a languid funk guitar, while there are further surprises on "Eat Me", where a dubbed out bassline and lost vocal intoning 'what are you doing here' is fused with dreamy synths. It's a similar situation on "Voy a Ver", where darker guitar riffs chimes in over a groovy disco rhythm. Maintaining its unpredictable edge, "Berberecho" is a faster, jacking affair with a rubbery bassline and squelchy bleeps.

Review: Daniel Avery was one of 2012's most refreshing success stories; his Fabric mix and two EPs for Erol Alkan's Phantasy Sound may not have slotted comfortably into any of the current flavours of the month, but they shone through thanks to their singular approach to techno. "Drone Logic" was one of the highlights of his second Phantasy release, where an old school progressive house bassline is chewed to pieces by bursts of electronic feedback, and this single release sees Factory Floor's Gabe Gurnsey provide a fine remix that sounds remarkably restrained for a member of the inheritors of Throbbing Gristle's throne; like Avery's original Gurnsey keeps things mid-tempo but strips everything back to basics, with a simple analogue arpeggio which adds an early industrial quality.

Review: Belgian label Token is one of the most consistent techno imprints because it gives short shrift to fads and fashions. Phase, one of the label's core artists, showcases its uncompromising style here. The title track is a tough, pumping affair, its heavy drums housing phased synths that suggest a world of unknown horrors. But it's on "The Chasedown" that Phase excels; the beats are heavy and concrete-like and a hint of acid lends it a menacing undercurrent. Nothing could prepare the listener for the wave of droning bee sounds that emerges in the middle of the arrangement, amplified to the nth degree until it feels like a million insects are buzzing from within your cranium.

Review: On the evidence of his latest releases, it feels like Robert Hood is going through a reinvention process. The recent Floorplan gave vent to his gospel influences and now "The Greatest Dancer", under his own name provides an insight into Hood's love of disco. There's not much to the title track, yet this simplicity and clarity of sound is the same aesthetic that drove the original productions that it is indebted to. Over a rolling, housey groove, Hood adds in some sexy funk guitar, sprinkles it with sensuous strings and puts all of the ingredients into a filtered blender. On "Dancer", the approach is even more minimal and straightforward as a walking funk bass guitar is married to a series of claps. This combination runs the risk of sounding like a DFA release, but Hood isn't finished. He adds sassy brass samples and a sexy female vocal, resulting in an arrangement that offers all of the sensuality of disco and the unflinching precision of his minimal techno productions. Call it a reinvention, but it also offers the best of both worlds.

Review: There's a reason that Drexciya are considered by many to be the most influential of all Detroit techno and electro acts. Aside from their addictive combination of mysticism and mystery, Gerald Donald and James Stinson made fabulous music - genuinely otherworldly electronic compositions that have stood the test of time. Whether you're a confirmed fan or Drexciyan novice, Journey Of The Deep Sea Dweller should be essential listening. The first of four collections of classic material to be released by Clone, it gathers together their brilliant early '90s works in newly remastered form. Bristling with raw analogue funk and far-sighted techno, it's a timely reminder of their immense talents. Simply essential.

Review: Soul:R boss and all round drum and bass legend Marcus Intalex's Trevino moniker has been used previously by Kaye on a split release with Instra:mental for Martyn's 3024 label, but the two tracks on this purple ten inch are much more in line with Al Bleek's material for [Naked Lunch], adopting a rhythmic poise and sound palette that leans heavily on the mid 90s bass heavy techno sound of LFO. "Buried" is the deeper of the two, building nicely from sparse percussive beginnings into a fully formed procession of warm, kaleidoscopic chords and bubbling analogue undercurrents. Those craving something darker will revel in the heady jacking brilliance of "Derelict" which betrays his D&B history via the deviant bassline twist.

Review: Attempting a summary of sorts for Illum Sphere's career to date, Fat City have drafted in this raft of remixers to reinterpret the maverick producers output thus far. Kidkanevil turns "Agent White" into a half-step bleepathon which erupts into jungle without so much as a warning. Dabrye brings some crisp, linear funk to "An Old Escape", with a chunky bass line to die for. "Chasing The Midnight Moth" becomes a silken blur of UK Funky-meets-G Funk in Ikonika's hands, while Om Unit creates an atmospheric dread with his version of "Never Lie Twice". Scumbag rounds things off with an organic yet shattered take on "One For Dimlite".

Review: The heavyweight Dutch producer delivers a suitably slamming release for Glenn Wilson's long-running imprint. "Dolls" is all dense drums and abrasive riffs unfolding over a grainy bass. "Burn" is less upfront, with a trance synth its central focus, but behind this musical element there lurks a jarring rhythm. "Thood" makes no such concessions to musicality; howling analogue riffs spit out fire and brimstone as banging, metallic drums pound away in the background. But Bas Mooy has a more considered approach, which he applies on "Dust"; its drums are heavy but less driving, and the sonic bleeps reminiscent of Sleeparchive or Sahko.

Review: Danny Wolfers is stuck in a groove right now, a hugely prolific production groove which has him tossing out new material on a seemingly weekly basis for all manner of labels. Hot on the heels of that Nacho Patrol 12" for Simonetti and a under the cover album for Blue Moon Safari comes this this three track debut for the equally relentless Unknown To The Unknown label. The Star Gazing EP makes for a wondrous display of Legowelt's talent for implementing those trademark melodies within various rhythmic frameworks; in the case of stand out track "Visions In My Mind", it's a hypnotic disco jacker lent no small degree of melancholy by the titular vocal.

Review: Dave Huismans swiftly follows on from that incendiary 50 Weapons 12" with an equally explosive return to the Clone Basement Series. One of the first names to contribute to the series back in 2009, both "Hang Up" and "Sweetback" find Huismans eschewing the jagged, garage flecked drill techno dynamism of last year's "Take The Plunge" for some of his "most banging, straight-forward club material to date". The lead track is bristling with uneasy liquid funk, heavily diced Hancock vibes cascading around the buccaneering drum patterns with glee. "Sweetback," meanwhile, creeps out from the murky depths, driven by dust battered kicks and gnarly, sinewy analogue twists - there's no greater philosophy at work here, it's simply dark techno for dark rooms.

Review: Australian producer Galtier debuts on Car Crash Set with an impressive pair of contemporary techno tracks with nods to the UK end of the bass spectrum and Detroit styles. "Ring Twice" is a no-nonsense slice of 4/4 with dry stabs, granite rhythms and simmering bass with the arid atmosphere of a Terrence Dixon production and recomposes it with a big-room sensibility. "Shaped" is a different beast, taking sparse, swung 133bpm drums, abstract whistles and subdued chords and wrapping them up into a package that is part ghetto house, part dub techno. Fans of Blawan, Bambounou and Tessela take note.

Review: After the conceptual nature of Escapism, the recent Delsin album from the perma-brilliant Conforce, Mr Bunnik returns to the Clone Basement Series with the totally essential 24 EP. Recently the focus of a must read feature on the new breed of Dutch techno via our sister site Juno Plus, this release finds Conforce in deadly form approaching the art of the genre from different, equally sharp angles with precision results. Opening with "Grain" Bunnik pounds spectrally charged vocal groans with unrelenting layers of percussive intent and the increasing gurgle of analogue malfunction, whilst "Be There At Night" is looser in feeling, as jacking rhythms threaten to slip out of time amidst the intermittent granite thick rave stabs. On the flip recent Moustache Techno signee Gesloten Cirkel remixes the title track "24" shifting the dubby wormhole shuffle down a gear or two and introducing some delightful string plucked sensuousness.

Review: The Aphrology EP marks a killer induction into the MOS Deep annals of excellence from Ksoul & Muteoscillator, the Italian duo who have impressed intermittently with their dense brand of techno for Uzuri and Kinda Soul Recordings (which is overseen by Ksoul himself). The two part "Criminology" opens proceedings face up, with the restrained acid leanings of the opening gambit slightly overwhelmed by the unrelenting modulated brutality of its subsequent partner. Face down and MOS Deep ringleader Aroy Dee sneaks in with his own edit of "Aphrology" before Ksoul and Muteoscillator can demonstrate the title track's prowess - it's Dee to a tee, taking the well judged house that swells with ever menacing machine squeals and adding his own subtle percussive embellishments.

Review: D'Marc Cantu may have languished in the shadow of his more high-profile associates Traxx and James T. Cotton, but A New World, his second artist album in as many years shows that he should be viewed as being the master of his own destiny rather than an engaging sideshow. Indeed, one of the most noticeable aspects of A New World is the lack of Jakbeat, the primal interpretation of Chicago house that the Nation stable of artists have developed. When it does rear its grungy head, it does so in the most irresistibly creepy manner; "Green Bike Sea" starts with rolling snares and leads to a grainy bass and shaking percussion underpinning muffled vocals and bleeding acid lines. "Try Me" is meaner and yet more suggestive, with the scent of blood and sweat-caked bar counters rising over a red-lit, heaving bass. However, this is not an album about shebeens and one-night stands with random strangers, but rather a reflective, more introverted work. "Mobile Communication" sees heavy claps supporting bleeding, bleepy bass licks, but it's merely a prelude for "The First Planet". Inspired by Detroit techno, it's Cantu's piece de resistance: atmospheric synths arc slowly upwards, their acidic undercurrent like tail lights on a jumbo jet as they reach into the upper levels of the night sky, hopefully guiding Cantu towards greater recognition.

Review: It's no wonder that MOS Deep has managed to build itself a serious reputation within the deeper side of the techno spectrum, with a family of artists that seem to mature with each release. The latest instalment comes from Dutch DJ and producer, R A G aka Aroy Dee who collaborated with Ma Spaventi on the previous MOS Deep cut. "Chunky analogue" is the best term to describe these three tracks and this is a further delight given the domination of plug-ins and software these days. Title track "Black Rain" begins with a warm and punchy kick-drum accompanied by a series of crunchy snares and hi-hats which flow in unison with a ghostly melody. The analogue mix on the flip side has an eye on the dance floor and allows the drum machine more space to play, but still manages to retain most of the mystique created on the A-Side. As if that wasn't enough, there is even an ambient mix for all those wishing to go that further step into the ether.